Surat Municipal Corporation to insure 12.5 lakh property owners

SMC is first civic body in Gujarat to think of such a measure for the property owners which is likely to benefit nearly 600 people and their kin in a year once this scheme comes into effect from April 1March 09, 2016, 08:45 IST

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) would be paying Rs1.25 crore towards annual premium for the insurance of nearly 12.5 lakh property owners in the city from accidental deaths and disabilities. SMC is first civic body in Gujarat to think of such a measure for the property owners which is likely to benefit nearly 600 people and their kin in a year once this scheme comes into effect from April 1. All the property owners will be insured for a sum of Rs 2 lakh each by SMC which will buy a single policy for them and in case of an accident collect the money from the insurance company to be paid to the victims.

The city has been witnessing many accidents in the past few years, with the number of people dying in them being around 600 in a year. These accidents have also been leaving many people injured.

"The intention of the scheme is to help all families living within the municipal limits of Surat during the time of crisis. If owner of a house dies in an accident, then the SMC would pay the next of kin of the victim a sum of Rs 2 lakh. An injured accident victim would be paid Rs1 lakh in case he or she suffers permanent disability," SMC deputy commissioner (finance) Sharad Mehta said.

"The scheme would come into force from April 1. We would continue this scheme in future too as the premium is only Rs10 per year for a property owner," Mehta added.

The only drawback is not all members of a family would be insured. Only on whose name a property is registered with the SMC will be the beneficiary of the scheme.

"It would be difficult to accommodate all members of the family under the scheme as we don't have concrete data. We need precise information to spread the insurance cover to all 45 lakh people living in the city," an SMC officer said.